Its not often a property comes along that straddles both history and future. This 1857 building located in Bolsters Mills next to the Bolsters Mills dam and gorgeous Crooked River in Harrison, Maine is ready for you to bring into the future. The backstory makes owning this property so much more rewarding.
The year was 1846. Moor Hancock purchased this land to construct a store. Even though we are unsure what year he completed this building, an 1857 atlas shows the building in its current place. It was known as the Moors Hancock Store until a relative of Hancock sold it to Ernest L. Gay in the early 1900s. Ernest owned the store for almost 40 years and it was operated as the Stuart & Gay Store. Yet this buildings history does not stop there. It has housed the Post Office, Bolsters Mills Telegraph & Telephone Company, an American Express, Co. terminal, a gas station with a back room ...
The year was 1846. Moor Hancock purchased this land to construct a store. Even though we are unsure what year he completed this building, an 1857 atlas shows the building in its current place. It was known as the Moors Hancock Store until a relative of Hancock sold it to Ernest L. Gay in the early 1900s. Ernest owned the store for almost 40 years and it was operated as the Stuart & Gay Store. Yet this buildings history does not stop there. It has housed the Post Office, Bolsters Mills Telegraph & Telephone Company, an American Express, Co. terminal, a gas station with a back room used by a barber once a week, later a back room used as a wood carvers shop, and currently a surveyors office. This towns history is not just in this building but also the surrounding land. Just let yourself imagine what use to be in this area a blacksmith shop to the south just before the Bolsters Mills dam, below the dam was a grist, carding, and fulling mill, and on the Otisfield side of the water was a saw mill that floated logs down the river. The historical details are amazing!
The beauty of Maine comes to fruition in these small towns. It gives you the ability to slow down, breathe the fresh air, and take in nature's gorgeous mountains, lakes, and rivers. Of course everyone likes some conveniences too. Just a hop skip and a jump down the road from this property is the well-known Bolsters Mills Country Store offering hearty breakfasts, hot and cold sandwiches, burgers, pizza, and more. The town of Harrison is home to the Deertrees Theater (4.6 miles drive), offering an array of plays and concerts for all ages to enjoy each summer. The towns of Norway, South Paris, and Oxford (10-12 mile drive) are nearby offering restaurants, stores, grocery centers, nature preserves, Norway Country Club, Oxford Plains Speedway, Stephen's Memorial Hospital, and much more.
When you consider the proximity to all things Maine, direct road frontage, and 2400 square feet of possibilities, this diamond in the rough starts to capture the imagination. This building has history but now its your turn to help it finds its future. (Feel free to view the map on my website. This website needed an acreage amount and only allowed us to put one acre. Please note it is less than an acre.)